HORROR AT MOUNT RHODES MANOR, 1 SUTHER CLOSE, HOUT BAY

On 30 January 2023 I booked a 6 night stay at Mount Rhodes in Hout Bay for our December family holiday via www.Booking.com. In March last year, I increased this to a 7 night stay, which was also confirmed via the website. I've used this site a lot over the years and have never had an issue, so I didn't really think about it again until around mid-July, when I sent a WhatsApp message to the landlord, Suzie Roderick, asking if we could have single bed configuration in the second room for our teenage boys. And so our nightmare began! Suzie rep**** saying she had a 3-week booking over that period and could not accommodate us. I nearly dropped my phone! She went on to say she doesn't even have access to that site anymore, despite her property being up and available as advertised, with the site accepting all bookings. I immediately contacted Booking.com customer service who were very helpful and assured me I would be provided with replacement accommodation, either by Suzie or by them. I can only assume they read her the legal riot act, and she realised she had to come up with a solution that was the least costly to her, so she (somewhat reluctantly) offered us her main residence, reminding us that she never lets it out and we were getting WAY more than we had paid for. She provided us with photos of the rooms' wallpaper being renovated which looked lovely. However, what we encountered upon arrival was not only disgusting to look at, but it is certainly not what we were told we would get! I booked a self-contained two bedroom unit with a lounge and dining area that looked onto the property's "private" swimming pool, with a TV, nicely appointed kitchen and including free wifi.

At 07h30 on the arrival day, I informed Suzie of our ETA and, as estimated, we arrived at 15h10..... to an absolute horror show. Suzie herself looked like she'd been on a 3 day bender, unkempt and with dirty hair. She said she was running late in getting the house ready, but seemed comfortable to show us through her mess. There had clearly been a party in the preceding days, because there was not an open surface area anywhere in the kitchen, dirty plates, glasses and cutlery piled up everywhere, with her cleaning lady furiously washing, and soiled baking trays soaking in the cluttered courtyard. We were horrified. But we said we would leave, giving Suzie the benefit of the doubt, and go and have an early dinner and then return, which we did around 18h30. What else could we do this late on the day of our arrival?

This is what we encountered, AFTER Suzie's clean up which conflicts 100% with what we booked and what we were promised as replacement accommodation: - clutter, furniture, headboards, a ladder, picture frames and boxes piled in the entrance hall, d****d in sheets, more in the dining room and all along the hallway to our bedrooms, so much so that you would have fallen over and broken something in the dark. It can only be described as a fire, health and safety risk. - broken and leaking taps in the kitchen and master bathroom - one bathroom basin having no taps at all. - no television for the boys. - wifi not working. - all her food to remain in "our fridge". - rear kitchen door did not lock properly - cat litter trays in the kitchen - advised we would need to feed the dog and the dog slept in the hallway at night. None of this was told to us prior to arrival. - 2 Persian cats would come and go, so windows to be left open for this - again, not advised until on arrival and our one son is very allergic. - no cupboard or clothes packing space in boys' bedroom - dust and filth on the main bedroom surfaces - the scullery was so packed with her **** that you couldn't even enter the room. Every single room was cluttered with her junk. It was absolutely **********!!

When we returned to what Suzie thought was a "cleaned up and ready to occupy" home, she departed. Greg and I were visibly traumatised, the boys were looking on in horror. So we sat on the verandah and had a drink to gather our thoughts and talk through our options. It was clear that we could not remain at this accommodation. We had booked a holiday to get away to what we thought would be a lovely cottage overlooking the pool, to relax and have some peace and quiet (whilst we sat on the verandah, 9 people (presumably neighbours) walked past to use the pool which was advertised as "private pool"). We concluded that we would very much not be comfortable or be able to relax and share a family space in this filthy, messy and cluttered environment. So I phoned a friend who runs a B&B who could very fortunately accommodate us for the night until we could make alternative arrangements.

I called Booking.com and told them what we had encountered. They asked if Suzie had provided us with a room to sleep in so that we were not destitute for the night, to which I rep****, yes we could if we HAD to, (the freaky doll in our bedroom cupboard notwithstanding!) but I did not want to spend one night in this mess, the bedrooms were the only rooms that you could at least move around in, but the rest of the house was wholly uninhabitable. Customer Services asked if I wanted to cancel the reservation, to which I responded, I have been left with no choice but to do so. They did not offer me any other alternative. They requested I take photographs for submission to their online portal that night, which I did. Booking.com contacted Suzie and requested a full refund on my behalf. Suzie refused and opted to only give back what she was "legally bound to" being less than 50%. She originally told me she would vacate her home for us and stay in one of her cottages on the property. This changed to staying with a friend when we arrived. This changed again when I wanted my money back and she said she had had to pay for alternative accommodation in order to accommodate us. I don't believe her.

Furthermore, she tried to ****** money from me for "having to change her front door lock". I have streams of messages trying to meet up with her to give her keys back, to no avail. There was never any reason for her to proceed with this action. We refused to pay for this.

Our supposed 50% refund came through from her in the amount of R5,431,50 (which is not half of the total R11,533 paid) on the day we were due to depart Cape Town, which put us under huge financial stress during our holiday as we had to find alternative accommodation at such short notice during peak holiday season.

I can't correspond further with Booking.com as their emails are all "no reply" addresses. The booking is also "cancelled" on my portal so I cannot leave a review. I have not corresponded further with Suzie, as I don't believe I will get anywhere.

So to anyone who wants to book at this horror show of a property, please beware!! The Landlord is nothing shy of ************ and of poor, unashamed character and revolting personal hygiene.

I am sorry I cannot post photos on this site for all to see that I am not exaggerating!